Ready to stay ahead? Your Thursday Daily PR Brief is here - January 29, 2026
Amazon's layoff memo internal and external concerns; New realities of earned media at conferences; UK PR bodies launch campaign against fake experts; more!
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Read some of today's best PR and Comms industry news clips:
Silence, Statements or Stands: What the Minnesota ICE Crisis Reveals About Corporate Activism (PRNEWS - January 28, 2026)
What the Google leak reveals about SEO for PR leaders (Axia Public Relations - January 29, 2026)
The Scoop: Amazon's layoff memo hits on internal and external concerns (PR Daily - January 28, 2026)
What Trends Are Defining the Workplace in 2026? (Institute for Public Relations - January 27, 2026)
Leadership Crisis Prevention Strategies (O'Dwyer's - January 28, 2026)
PR Trends of the New Year: Key Takeaways from Our 2026 Expert Panel (Agility PR Solutions - January 29, 2026)
What Your Posture Says About Your Presence as a Communicator (CommPRO - January 29, 2026)
Stop Sending Blank Invites: The Power of Personalized LinkedIn Requests (Culpwrit - January 28, 2026)
Perspective: How To Stop A PR Crisis Before It Starts (PRovoke Media - January 26, 2026)
Looking Forward: The New Realities of Earned Media at Conferences (W2 Communications - January 28, 2026)
PR bodies launch campaign against fake experts after Press Gazette investigation (Press Gazette (UK) - January 29, 2026)
NEW Research: AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands or products; marketers should take care when tracking AI visibility (SparkToro - January 28, 2026)
How internal comms can use visuals to simplify complex or dense messages (Ragan Communications - January 26, 2026)
If you work with PR teams, agencies, founders, or comms leaders, forward them this newsletter — they’ll thank you.
Summary Section:
Silence, Statements or Stands: What the Minnesota ICE Crisis Reveals About Corporate Activism
By Nicole Schuman
PRNEWS - January 28, 2026
As social issues, such as those in Minnesota, escalate rapidly and play out in real time, business leaders are increasingly forced to decide not just whether to speak or make statements, but how clearly—and at what risk—in moments when silence, caution or ambiguity can be interpreted as a message of its own.
What the Google leak reveals about SEO for PR leaders
Axia Public Relations - January 29, 2026
Learn what the Google leak suggests for PR teams and how to improve SEO for PR with content, links, and reputation-driven visibility tactics.
The Scoop: Amazon's layoff memo hits on internal and external concerns
By Courtney Blackann
PR Daily - January 28, 2026
Amazon's layoff memo hits on internal and external concerns. Plus: Yahoo's new AI chatbot prioritizes links; Target CEO's video message empathizes with employees.
What Trends Are Defining the Workplace in 2026?
Institute for Public Relations - January 27, 2026
SurveyMonkey examined workplace culture and trends in 2025, revealing gaps in growth opportunities and differing perspectives on leadership transparency and values across seniority levels.
Leadership Crisis Prevention Strategies
By Monica Marshall, Managing Director and Head of Ruder Finn D.C.
O'Dwyer's - January 28, 2026
Unfortunately, today, many organizations still approach crisis communications as a response function, something activated after controversy erupts. Crisis teams are brought in to write a statement, while headlines are forming and social media reaction is accelerating. By then, often the damage has been done.
PR Trends of the New Year: Key Takeaways from Our 2026 Expert Panel
By Cara Valle
Agility PR Solutions - January 29, 2026
On January 28, PR leaders gathered for Bulldog Reporter’s and Agility PR Solution’s annual PR Trends of the New Year panel to discuss what’s shaping the industry in the year ahead. The conversation explored how PR teams are adapting to rapid change across AI, media relations, and trust. Here are the highlights.
What Your Posture Says About Your Presence as a Communicator
By Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D.
CommPRO - January 29, 2026
In high-visibility meetings, media moments, and virtual rooms, how communicators carry themselves can influence credibility and leadership presence as much as the message itself.
Stop Sending Blank Invites: The Power of Personalized LinkedIn Requests
By Anne Gaertner
Culpwrit - January 28, 2026
Think about meeting someone at an event. You wouldn’t walk up, hand them your business card, and walk away without saying a word. That would feel confusing and a little weird. A default LinkedIn request feels the same way.
Perspective: How To Stop A PR Crisis Before It Starts
By Danielle Schlanger, Senior VP at Fenton
PRovoke Media - January 26, 2026
Fenton senior VP Danielle Schlanger writes that 2026 must be the year organizations shift from crisis response to crisis prevention.
Looking Forward: The New Realities of Earned Media at Conferences
By Tony Welz
W2 Communications - January 28, 2026
Conference PR has changed. Fewer reporters, less time, higher expectations. Why earned media now demands quality, creativity, and relevance.
PR bodies launch campaign against fake experts after Press Gazette investigation
By Rob Waugh
Press Gazette (UK) - January 29, 2026
Press Gazette's investigation which uncovered 1,000 articles in the British press attributed to 50 fake, non-existent and AI-enhanced experts has spurred PR trade bodies into action. Britain's two leading trade bodies, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) joined forces for the campaign.
NEW Research: AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands or products; marketers should take care when tracking AI visibility
By Rand Fishkin
SparkToro - January 28, 2026
For the last few years, companies have been investing inordinate sums into AI tracking and AI visibility for their brands and products. $100M+/yr is already estimated to be spent on this new version of search analytics and yet, I could find absolutely no research showing whether AI tools are consistent enough when prompted for lists of brand/product recommendations to produce valid visibility metrics.
How internal comms can use visuals to simplify complex or dense messages
By Sean Devlin
Ragan Communications - January 26, 2026
In a workplace full of emails, direct messages and newsletters, it can be easy for employees to get overwhelmed by an avalanche of text. For internal communicators, visuals are especially powerful when the message is required, complex or easy to ignore.
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